Thank you for all your questions early this week; your feedback helped a lot in my preparation for the panel. As promised, I took your questions to our panelists and not only did they offer their insights, but --true to the nature of barcamps --many of the attendees chimed in with their own thoughts, too.

Right from the get-go, and to get the conversation flowing, I took a somewhat controversial position about social media in my opening statement. My point: social media isn't a revolution anymore; the paradigm shift is behind us; and that the interesting questions anymore aren't about how to get hooked into Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging, but rather how do we properly and ethically market online using social platforms that have traditionally been about relationship-building.

What do you think? Take a look at my summary in the video at MelAclaro.com and leave a comment with your thoughts.

December 17, 2009

Today's going to be a pretty cool luncheon. Not only will I, and a bunch of my friends in the Training and Learning profession get to eat a whole bunch of chocolate at what has been billed as our local ASTD chapter's renowned annual "Death By Chocolate" event, but I'll also be one of the proverbial "guards" to whom the reins will be passed for chapter management.

Today, I'll be taking over the reins as the new VP for Communications. I'll hold that spot for the remainder of 2010. My predecessor(s) did a great job of laying a foundation for me to build upon. And build I shall... (*sinister laugh*) I've already submitted by budget requirements for 2010.

Revamping our web site. I've been jonesin' for this for nearly two years now. Our existing site is old, tired and very, very static. (To wit: our site is down hard as of this writing.) Be on the lookout for an RFP from me soon after the new year. I'll be looking for folks who want to bid on helping us install and configure an open source platform (leaning towards Joomla at the moment) with a really slick theme, community features, social media sharing features and...well, be on the lookout for the RFP. I'll cross-post it here on BusinessCasualBlog.com when I have it written. (Email me if you think you'll have some interest in submitting a bid.)

Getting our chapter solidly on track with a new list host. We need to be able to touch our members and prospective members in a more intelligent way. The existing (internally-hosted) email campaigning system flies blind. What I mean is that there's scant capability to see any analytics that will give us insight to what our members find interesting, what our open rates are, as well as click-through rates, bounces, opt-ins/outs, and so on. Switching platforms will be a relatively easy hurdle (save maybe for having to re-opt in our whole list again), but the real challenge will be in developing coherent, story-based copy and message sequences that our list members will find relevant, informative and compelling. If you have any copy writing tips for me, let me know. I'm a sponge, man!

Installing a membership management software system. We don't really have one at the moment. Well, yes we do, but, no, not really. It's a very manual process today. A process that finds us ironically foregoing chapter revenue (?!) in favor of pro-rating membership fees when someone joins later in the year. (HUGE opportunity cost!) We have apparently been doing it this way in order to make the bookkeeping and the administrivia of membership expirations easier to manage. (Tell me if you see the same thing I'm seeing... we're incurring no less an 85% opportunity cost by my reckoning.)

Increasing our chapter's capacity for social media. Ha ha. This is a no-brainer. I started the year with a pledge to change hearts and minds at my chapter. I'm still on that mission. >:)

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November 26, 2009

Thank you for subscribing and for being part of my circle of friends on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. I wish you and your family a very happy day today in celebration of thanks for all things that make us each who we are.

November 16, 2009

The weekend's activities started last Thursday with RE BarCamp. Then, there was the NAR Convention that ran through the weekend. And, of course, the ASTD-OC Chapter leaders transition meeting last Saturday.

RE BarCamp was a hit with over 500 people in attendance at the Stingaree in San Diego's Gas Lamp District. In a nutshell, in addition to getting a whole buncha folks in the real estate profession together for a day to learn from each other about various topics ranging from Facebook, video blogging and social media to Google Wave, professionalism and legal issues of social media technology, we also had the pleasure of raising funds to sponsor schooling for two under-privileged children in a third-world country.

What's a barcamp?

In case you've never heard of a barcamp, it's basically a grassroots gathering where like-minded folks come to help each other learn. It's typically a free event run entirely on volunteerism and the occasional sponsorship from a company, organization or community. Frequently, there's also some kind of charity-sponsorship activity that attendees raise funds for. As I alluded above, last Thursday's event was honored to raise funds to help send a couple of kids to school via Mothers Fighting For Others.

BarCamps can form around any theme and can form anywhere in the world. Folks like YOU and me make it happen. Last Thursday's event happened to be themed on the real estate profession. It coincided with this year's NAR Convention (National Association of Realtors), which was also kind enough to sponsor part of the event. In many ways, a barcamp is like a convention, in the sense that there are breakout sessions where some expert facilitates discussion to learn about a certain topic. Unlike a convention, however, these sessions are free to attend. Also, cross-selling and cross-promotion of products or services by session speakers are discouraged. The event is strictly about learning. Well, learning and lots of networking.

How are session speakers selected for a barcamp?You think it, you decide to do it, you sign up on "the board", it happens.

It's like this: event organizers identify sections of the venue to split up into rooms. (Rooms can be formal rooms, or they can be a group of chairs pushed together in one corner of a large room.) Meanwhile, in some central gathering area, a large white board is posted. On the white board is a matrix. Columns in the matrix identify rooms. Rows specify meeting times, typically in 30- to 45-minute increments. In the cells of the matrix is white space for anyone -- any attendee -- to write the name of a topic and, of course, their own name to identify the facilitator.

Attendees regularly visit the white board to see the list of topics. If one interests you, simply show up in the designated meeting "room" at the appointed time. If there's a topic you'd like to discuss that isn't on the board, simply fill in your name and the name of the topic. Of course, lots of networking also tends to happen during the session breaks, lunch gatherings and the evening mixer that typically happens at the end of the event.

Barcamps are a great way (and did I say free?) for professionals to come together to network while teaching each other about trends and current events going on in their industry. Some industries have more critical mass than others. The RE BarCamp (real estate industry professionals) happens to be one of those with critical mass and seemingly a new event someplace in the U.S. happening at least quarterly. You can learn more about barcamp here. And, real estate barcamp here.

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December 10, 2008

I've been off-grid for a bit over a week. Among other events, I was a little preoccupied with the bittersweet pleasure of hosting family and supporting relatives after the recent passing of a respected matriarchal pillar in our family tree.

Ever the change management geek that I am, as everything was playing out over the past week, I couldn't help but think about the different phases people go through when confronted with negatively perceived change.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, a few things revalidated themselves for me:

1. Everyone--everyone-- goes through the change curve. But, we traverse the curve at different rates.

2. At the point of our entry to the curve, we encounter others who entered the curve at an earlier time than we. This is important because if you've ever bumped into someone at a memorial service who struck you as "taking this better than you thought," it may not be because they're more or less sensitized than you. It may just be that they've had more time in the curve. Even if you're both at the same stage, they may have had more time to come to terms with the depth of the water, so to speak, at the stage that you're just beginning to venture into.

3. Because we enter the curve at different times (#2 above) and we traverse at different rates (#1), we encounter each other at different stages. This is important in its own right because it's not uncommon to encounter someone in a state of anger while you're still grappling with shock and denial. Just because another person comes off as angry doesn't mean it's you they're angry at. Keep the change curve in mind and prepare for what comes next... (depression). Sometimes, the strength of their anger may signal the depth of the next stage.

4. Don't skirt the changes. As perverse as it may seem, learn to welcome the manifestation of each stage. Don't try to get "around it". To get to Acceptance (eventually), we each have to experience some form Denial, Anger, Bargaining and Depression.

What do you think? Have you experienced a life or organizational change where people just seemed "out of sync" with each other? If yes, do you think there's any merit to folks bumping into each other while coping with the implications of their own (different) portion of the curve?

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November 26, 2008

Last year my wife and I headed to a thanksgiving celebration with her side of the family. We do this thing every year where we go to thanksgiving with her side of the family and christmas with my side. Then we flip-flop the following year: thanksgiving with my side, christmas with hers.

We were going to thanksgiving.

I don't know what got me thinking about last year's thanksgiving celebration but the memory's with me now.

I remember I wasn't terribly excited to be headin' out for the thanksgiving celebration last year. We were goingto thanksgiving to see her family and it was going to be a long drive to Mesa, Arizona from our place in Orange County, California.

The trip promised to be even longer, too, because of some tension that had been building up between my wife and I just prior to the trip. Some of it family related, others just because I wanted to pout about something or other. Probably a male thing. Maybe as an outlet for the long road ahead.

Maybe, too, there was some selfishness on my part. The fact is, I was silently miffed we weren't spending thanksgiving with my siblings.

You see, my siblings and I are very close. Whenever we get together for anything, we've been known to produce dopplers of echos all the way down the block regardless of whose place we host the event at. And if it was an event like thanksgiving? Well, fuggedaboutit. We were just one of those "loud families" whenever we got together.

I guess in the context of all of that I was, however unfairly, comparing the raucous jabs, digs, pinches and belly laughs that traditionally mark the Aclaro-siblings' thanksgiving celebrations to my perception of now going to thanksgiving to a place where the atmosphere was going to be somehow, well, not.

Where's thanksgiving?

It started with the traffic.

I simmered and stewed the whole way. Even though it really wasn't as bad as all that, what little pockets we managed to run in to somehow validated for me that thanksgiving was already a bust.

It continued with the weather.

Thanksgiving with my siblings is typically up in northern california. Well, we call it northern but latitudinally speaking, it's really more central to California, just north and east of San Francisco bay by about 45 miles.

The cold nippy, sometimes damp weather that traditionally marks this time of year in that part of the world somehow makes for a cozier thanksgiving celebration.

One of my favorite things: hangin' on the deck with my brother and sisters sipping hot chocolates while soaking-in my sister's and her husband's panoramic view of San Pablo Bay.

Not, I thought, like the weather that we were hell-bent on driving steadily towards in sultry 'ol Mesa, Arizona.

I stewed. We were going to thanksgiving to a place where there wouldn't be all that cold, nippy, cozy, hot-chocolate-y, sibling stuff that I enjoy. Where's thanksgiving in all of that?

We arrived.

And, of course, when we got there, the weather was, indeed the not-nippy... thing.

We got to my siblings-in-law's place and enjoyed a nice quiet preamble while dinner continued to bake. It was nice to catch up. It wasn't raucous and nippy and chocolate-y, but nice.

Where's thanksgiving?

It started in the living room.

My brother-in-law caught us up on recent events. My wife caught up with her sister. Mom-in-law interjected unmentioned details. The game droned on unwatched in the background. Meanwhile our niece and nephew tugged at my arms vying for attention and a chance to go to the playground while dinner preparations continued.

As with your little ones probably, my niece and nephew are pristine little livewire bundles encased in polite, congenial little outer shells. I relented and offered to walk with them to the playground. Just a walk. After all, uncle Mel just got done driving a long way.

It continued at the playground.

By the time we got to the playground, I was already glistening with little mists of perspiration. Somewhere along the way I -- me, myself, I --challenged them to a race.

First it was to "the corner of the building." Of course the trick to winning any such races is to not let them know which part of the corner I was talking about. Tip: That frees you up to declare yourself the winner by having arrived at the closest, most convenient corner before either of them do.

They're quick studies though, my niece and nephew. They proceeded to win the next series of races that I was compelled to participate in. After all, I started it. Their inner livewire now protruded through cracks in their polite little outer-shells.

They logged their first win at "the little tree."

Then to "the swing set."

Then to "the slide."

Over the next half-hour my wife, her sister, my brother-in-law and my mother-in-law all managed to find their way to the playground, too.

Say what you want about "how cute" it is to see grown men and women running around swing sets, merry-go-rounds, monkey bars and slides. I think it all looks out of place. Surreal and out of place.

But there I was in the middle of it all. Sometimes leading, sometimes playing follow-the-leader. But I was definitely the alpha-primate when it came to the monkey bars.

It culminated at the swing.

At some point I remember headin' to one of the swings for a sit-down. After all, uncle Mel had just got done driving a long way.

Now I can't remember which of us had their butt firmly planted in "my swing" but they weren't havin' any of it.

Finders keepers and Mel's the weeper.

And that's when it happened.

I remember inhaling in preparation for a jovial little protest. I held it at mid-stream. And looked to my left.

I saw my niece and nephew laughing at their uncle's antics. They had that "let's do it again" gleam in their eyes. And we were going to do just that, again.

I looked across the sand to where my wife and her sister were engaged in close sibling conversation about only they know what. But they were smiling. Every few exchanges I could see them soaking in the same scene I was. (Were they laughing at me or with me?)

Just off to the side I saw my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law pointing and laughing at who cares what.

We weren't all that loud, but it wasn't quiet, either. I'd say maybe even a little raucous.

And there I was in the middle of it all. Me with my sandy chicken-legs and mists of perspiration beading on my forehead gettin' ready for another round of race-you-to-the-slide, or some such thing.

God what a mess I was! I had just got done driving a long way, after all.

And again I saw that I was in the middle of all that. And they were, too. Right smack in the middle. And I remember thinking, this is thanksgiving.

I finally let out that breath of air I had held in mid-stream a few moments earlier. I let it out in a silent, steady breeze of recognition. It had finally clicked.

The whole time I was busily going through the motions to go to thanksgiving, I had forgotten to give thanks.

What was earlier about to be a voice of protest, turned into a silently uttered, "happy thanksgiving."

September 03, 2008

I'm continually amazed at the developmental progress in -- and growing use of -- visualization tools to summarize data. In a previous post I wrote about the progress companies like Intronetworks has made in visualizing relationships between member profiles and member interests in online community networks. In a recent article, NY Times wrote about a data visualization tool called "Many Eyes."

Here, an experimental site from IBM's Alphaworks, Many Eyes (www.many-eyes.com), gives users the ability to upload data and collaborate with other users to visualize data sets in various interactive displays. These range from traditional line and bar charts, bubble graphs and bar stacks for numerical summaries to tag clouds, word clouds and word trees for displaying relationships and/or frequency of text-based data.

For example, below is a visual comparison of data sets using the text of speeches given recently by Presidents Bill Clinton and Geoge Bush at their respective party conventions about their respective party candidates.

After importing the text of each speech, the Many Eyes engine can present a visual of the data set via several models you choose. In the cases above I chose a Wordie cloud to show the frequency of words used in each speech. The larger the text, the higher the frequency.

The visualizations above suggest the greater frequency in which Mr. Bush mentions Mr. McCain by his first name than did Mr. Clinton of Mr. Obama. Kinda gives you the impression that John is George's BFF, huh? Whereas Bill seemed a little more formal in his references of Barack as suggested by the relative frequency in the use of "Barack" and "Obama."

But interesting, too, is the frequency of other nouns used in each of the speeches. 'Seems to be a more "wordly" theme to Mr. Clinton's speech about Obama than those used in Bush's for McCain.

Another beauty of these types of visualization tools is the flexibility they afford in being able to get another view of the data set. For example, the snapshots below show a tree diagram from the same data sets, but using each candidate's last name as the root.

Clinton speech using "Obama" as root:

Bush's speech using "McCain" as root:

What jumps out at me is the "meatier context" in which Clinton's words use "Obama" than the contexts in which Bush uses "McCain."

But, perhaps most remarkable to me about these visualization tools isn't so much that they are being developed, but that they're evolving in ways that solicit input from multiple minds. IBM's platform for Many Eyes allows a user to publish her visualization in a discussion forum. This helps get the perspective and input of others on the same data set. There's no way that any one person can "know it all." And, by collaborating in a way that knowledge capital from multiple members of a group is solicited, then it opens up more opportunities for new insights to be found by examining the same data set in different ways while also protecting against biases of any one individual.

If you know of other online sites offering other visualization tools, I'd love for you to share them with the rest of us through the comments.

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February 07, 2006

Again, I'm extending my high regard for the 950+ fire fighters. They're doing a great job keeping the fire at bay. One tangible evidence of this is the majority of previously evacuated homeowners who are now able to return home. Thanks to our firefighting teams! (Note: Photo by T. Young via OCRegister.com. Shows a great view of lined up fire equipment at the nearby Canyon Rim Elementary School just a couple of miles from my home.)

One honorable mention I have, too, is for my clients and customers. I've had a few calls today just asking about our well-being. And, I've personally noticed more patience and just an overall feeling of "taking-things-in-stride" from people on the streets. Isn't it interesting how people just seem to talk more to each other when events like this happen? Sorta reminds me of "snow days" back in Virginia when I used to live just outside the D.C. beltway.

And, while I'm sorry to hear about those who had to evacuate from their homes, it was also heartening to hear how the Red Cross shelters were actually not filled anywhere near capacity. There may be other reasons, but the one that I seem to hear alot -- and which I like to think of -- is that people were taking others into their homes. If not by family, then by friends.

My well-wishes and thoughts continue to be with our fire fighters, local officials, and to friends helping friends... Let's keep "paying it forward." :-)

I've posted some information from the City of Anaheim at the OCRealEstateZone.com regarding fire updates, resources, maps, a short list of local hotels that have offered discounts to local residents displaced by the fire, and so on.

Sierra Peak Wildfire Update:Firefighters made substantial progress on the Sierra Peak fire last evening. The Orange County Fire Authority has placed the fire at a 7% containment level. The wind is expected to return this morning, so pre-deployed police and fire resources are still in place in Anaheim Hills. We anticipate a decision on the lifting of the mandatory and voluntary evacuation areas at approximately 4 p.m.

Thanks to everyone who have called since yesterday to see how we're doing. We're fine. No homes have burned, nor are any currently being immediately threatened, in Anaheim Hills. The firefighters have been doing a great job keeping this thing at bay.

Calls of concern began coming in when the media reported evacuations in Anaheim Hills. Reports of spot fires on the west side of a major toll road (241) separating the fire from Anaheim Hills also caused some concern.

True, some roads have been closed and evacuations have happened. But these have mainly been for a stretch of tracts in the eastern-most part of Anaheim Hills. None of these homes are immediately in harms way. The spot fires have been put out.

Thanks to our local firefighters and civil authorities! :-)

Later today, I'll cross-post some information here and at the OCRealEstateZone.com so local residents, clients and customers can get timely updates.

In the meantime, feel free to trackback to this post or forward this weblog's link (http://aclaro.blogs.com/) to your friends and family. I'll keep updates posted as things change

On a personal note: to all my family, friends and clients: thanks again for calling and caring. :-)